Relief
by secret bliss
Summary: Ginny's life has changed forever, the war left her numb and empty, and there is only one person who can relieve her of the burdon. Life must go on even if she has lost a part of it. *so basically right after the second war told from Ginny's point of view*
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of this, all characters and such belong to J.K. Rowlings brilliant mind.**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter One<span>**

I lifted my head off mums shoulder, looking down at my hands I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks. My mind was blank, all I felt was numb. Relief, I willed it to come, but I couldn't feel anything, just emptiness. I closed my eyes, letting it fill me up.

Although I thought I had just briefly closed my eyes when I looked around the severely damaged Great Hall, a large portion of families had disappeared and the sun had now risen and began to fall again. I turned my head curious to see who was still there, Neville was sitting at the far end of the table with his Grandmother admiring Godric Gryffindor's sword. Professor McGonagall was standing at the doors talking to an elderly man, the Hogs Head bar man, McGonagall looked as old as ever, her eyes were red and her cheeks were tear stained, her usual knot was now loose and her clothes were distinctly disheveled. My eyes roamed over more familiar faces, but not the one I was searching for, the one I hungered to see. Mum was leaning on dad holding him as his arms were wrapped around her, her whole frame was shaking, I could hear faint whimpers, Dad was looking straight ahead, his eyes red and puffy. Bill was sitting with his hands in front of him on the table, tracing something etched on the table absentmindedly. I was almost scared to look at George, I didn't want to think, and I was sure he would trigger everything to come flooding back. Eventually I couldn't help myself, I looked up at George's face, he was staring out one of the shattered windows, his eyes were blank, and his face showed no emotion. And yet he looked broken, diminished almost, the way he just stared, it was almost worse than seeing him cry.

"George..." I was shocked that I had even been able to utter a word, I instantly wished I could have taken it back. He tore his eyes away from the window and looked down at me, the moment our eyes met my entire body went cold, my lips trembled as my eyes began to prickle, tears began spilling out hard and fast. I wanted to say something to him, anything, I wanted to comfort him in anyway I could. But how are you supposed to comfort someone, when all you want is to curl up and let others console you, when all you want is to just let go. I was sick of being brave, sick of being strong, it was too hard. And even though I didn't say a thing it was as if he knew what I was trying to do, he gave me a weak smile that didn't reach his frozen eyes, and turned to look out the window again. My head became heavy, my vision now completely obstructed by tears I closed my eyes and rested my head on George's shoulder, I felt his arm wrap around my small frame and pull me closer. Grey clouds churned and swam behind my eyelids, and I heard myself let an almost inaudible Why? out. I felt George's eyes look back down at me, and felt his whole frame begin to shake, as silent tears rolled down his cheeks.

When I opened my eyes again, I looked up to see dad directly above me, this was extremely confusing until I realized he was carrying me. "Dad? You can put me down." He looked down at me almost surprised, smiled and set me down on my feet. I looked around, we were standing in the Entrance Hall, the marble staircase had been blown apart and the ceiling was only partly there. Cold spring air was blowing through the open doors, I closed my eyes and let the simple freshness wash over me.

"Come on Ginny" Bill had his hand on my arm and was gently pulling me forward, we walked through the doors and down onto the grounds, then I saw them. Three figures standing by the lake, my pace quickened, my heart fluttered as I grew nearer, I looked down and realized I was running. I stopped abruptly ten feet behind them. I guess the rest of them had been running too, because mum raced by me her voice ringing out. "Ron! Oh Ron!" Ron turned around just in time, as mum threw her arms around him crying into his chest. "Don't you... How could you... Why on earth!" Was all you could hear as she continued to sob. Ron looked alarmed but also extremely relieved. The sight would have been amusing at any other point but in this case it was extremely understandable, none of us had seen Ron, Hermione or Harry in nearly a year. Harry. I snapped my head away from Ron and Mum. He was looking directly at me, his emerald eyes instantly filling my body with what I craved most; relief. I didn't know if he was moving towards me or if I was moving towards him, but all of a sudden I was in his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck, breathing in his scent, my cheek pressed against his shoulder. And in that moment it was if he had taken the burden of everything off my shoulders, the pain, the fear, the emptiness, now lifted off me, leaving nothing but warmth.

Everything went black, I was being pressed very hard from all directions; I couldn't breathe, there were iron bands tightening around my chest; my eyes felt as if they were being forced back into my head; my eardrums were being pushed deeper into my skull, and just when I thought I must suffocate, the iron bands released and I gulped in great lungfuls of air. I let go of dads arm, and took a step back, I staggered and almost slipped but caught myself in time. "Never again." I said to no one in particular, rubbing my eyes. I heard the faint pops as the rest of my family apperated next to me. I looked up to see Auntie Murial's house, standing just as it had before the battle. It was slightly larger than any of the other houses on the street, not that there were many. The paint was peeling and turning a dull gray colour, the curtains were all drawn shut, the house would not have looked more welcoming if you tried. The rickety old fence creaked in the wind and the over grown grass swayed as if reaching for the sky. A great sigh escaped my lips. I had wanted to go straight home, I hadn't been to the Burrow in ages, I just wanted to curl up in my bed and sleep. Another pop, I turned to see Harry clutching onto Hermione's arm, and Ron holding Hermione's hand. Harry dropped her arm and turned to look at the house, Ron however continued to hold her hand as he whispered something in her ear. I smirked to myself, finally, was all I could think. I strode over to Harry's side and slipped my hand into his, he smiled as he looked down at me. "So this is Auntie Murial's house?" His voice was quite and just audible for me to hear it, "Mhm, I wish we could have gone home though, I miss it so much."

"You'll be able to get your stuff, and besides you're going home tomorrow." Typical Harry I thought, when will he learn? "We're going home tomorrow." I corrected him. His eyes shone for a moment, he squeezed my hand as the front door of Auntie Murials' flew open. "I've been hearing things all day! Is it over? Is it really over? Is he dead? Is You Know Who really gone?" Auntie Murial was teetering down the path towards us, her voice was raspy as she demanded to know the details. "Yeah." Harry's voice was bold and prompt. "ARGH! Harry Potter? Arthur is that Harry Potter?" Auntie Murial clutched her chest, now drawing in wheezy breaths, she didn't wait for Dad to respond as she lurched over to where Harry had stiffened next to me. She drew up next to him, barely coming up to his chin. She looked at his face almost hungrily then roughly brought her hand up and held back a clump of Harry's hair as she examined his scar. "Harry Potter." she whispered. "Yes, you will be the one to tell me all about it boy, yes now all of you follow me, your making a great bloody scene." Her voice had become harsher as she addressed the rest of us, you'd think we were the ones shouting about Harry.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Alright, alright, shoes off. I want everyone in the front room. Throw your jackets and j...jumpers in the bin, by the laundry room." Mum's face was blotchy and red and her eyes bloodshot, but she had momentarily stopped the flow of tears, it was hard to watch her cry and not be able to do something. I strode down the drab hall, the walls held pictures of a young man in front of various scenery's, occasionally accompanied by a stern looking women around the age of twenty-five. The man smiled down upon us, and was attempting to make the women laugh in a few other pictures.

"Ginny, will you come in here with me. I need your help." Hermione was standing in the door of the laundry room, I hadn't talked to her in a while, my heart seemed to swell, I missed them so much.

"Yeah of course." I stepped in behind her, closing the door to see Ron's eyes wide with worry and anticipation. I turned to see Hermione's eyes welling up, "Hermione! What's wrong?" I rushed over and placed my arms on her shoulders, as tears spilled over and down her thin face.

"I can't believe it's over, I missed you all so much. Ginny, I'm safe, your safe. Its over." Why had she brought me in here to tell me this, something was wrong with her.

"Hermione, calm down, yes we're safe. I think you need some sleep, it's alright." I tried to keep my face composed, as I helped her peel off her jacket stained with blood, she winced at each movement, but didn't complain.

"Alright, here's your jacket, and jumper, put them in the hamper, and I'm here for you Hermione if you need anything at all. I've missed you too." She looked up at me her usual smile now forming on her face, she opened her mouth as if to say something but nothing came out, she tried again and this time a small giggle escaped. I looked at her almost shocked, when I felt my own lips curl into a smile, she laughed this time, her laugh sounded hoarse, rough, but it was still her laugh. And then I couldn't help it, I felt it in my heart, as it tickled my throat, and then I was holding my stomach, and we were laughing, innocently, about nothing in particular, but it came with ease, spilling out of my lips and into the air.

We walked into the front room, clutching each others hands. Ron was standing in front of mum, while she worked over him with her wand and a small bottle, at first I couldn't figure out what she was doing, but when I saw him wince and then exhale as a large gash on his cheek disappeared, I realized Mum was mending our injury's from the battle. Hermione let go of my hand as Ron let out a sharp yelp, she rushed over to his side, placing her hand on his arm. Mum worked over all of us, Dad, George, Percy, Hermione, Harry, Bill, and myself.

Dinner was quiet, the easy laugh between Hermione and myself had died, and the feeling had vanished as well. It felt wrong to be sitting here, doing nothing, just eating.

"Ronald! You eat the food I've put on your plate, haven't even touched it, rude that is boy, hasn't your mother taught you manners. You're skin and bone, eat up, eat up!" Auntie Murial was pointing her fork at Ron from across the table emphasizing each word with a jab through the air, bits of food were flying off her fork, as Ron muttered something under his breath, but I thought I caught something about a 'miserable old hag.' I turned back to Auntie Murial who was eying Harry, her mouth opened as if to say something, but she caught mum's eye, and fell silent. Mum could be suffocatingly protective sometimes, but this made sense, Auntie Murial had a knack for drawing out gossip and stories out of people, but it normally lead to the person feeling terrible after, and no one wanted to relive the battle.

I picked up my Quidditch jumper off the ground, sighing, I folded it up and tossed it into my trunk, it still contained all my materials from Hogwarts, before I left that is. There was a soft knock at the door.

"Ginny?" My heart fluttered as he stuck his head in the door looking around. I walked over to him holding out my hand, as I closed the door behind him.

"Hi." His voice was barely a whisper.

"Come sit." I said patting the bed as I pulled him down next to me. He looked towards the door almost anxiously. My face fell.

"You can go see them if you want... I mean we could both go if you liked."

"Oh no! It's not like that, it's just odd I guess, I've spent the last ten months with them, just the three of us, in that tent. And now I'm sitting here, just sitting, not having to think about Voldemort, or the Death Eaters. I've waited for seven years for this to be all over. For him to die. I've finally killed the man who destroyed my family, the man who killed my parents, who killed my God-Father, who killed my every link to some sort of parent, who killed my friends, my friends... What do I do now? Where do I go?"

He pulled his hand out of mine and put his face in his hands.

"Harry." My voice sounded small and distant, I cleared my throat and tried again.

"Harry, you have to understand something; you were always Harry, living your own life, and your life did not revolve around killing him. Your battle with him, all these years was just something you had to do while leading your life. It wasn't and isn't who you are. So even though he is dead and gone, your still here, still here and able to continue your life the way you want. Just because he's gone does not mean you have no purpose anymore. This is the part you have been dreaming of, where you get to be who you want to be and live the way you want to live, and he can't stop you."

He looked up at me, his eyes almost glowing in the dimly lit room, he placed his hand under my chin, tilting my head up so our faces were inches way. His breath washing over my face, butterflies seemed to be dancing in my stomach.

"Ginny... I...I know... It's just hard, I mean it's finally over, I can't believe it. He will never rip apart another family again, he'll never hurt an yone ever again... Which means you're safe, Ginny I just realized... The first thing I can do with no consequences is be with you, I want you back Ginny, I don't ever want to lose you again." He looked at me, anticipation all over his face.

"Harry you never lost me, and you never will." I lent in, gently placing my lips on his, his hand moved to the nape of my neck, he deepened the kiss drawing me in closer, so we were simply one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

I ran down the fourth floor, Neville close on my heels.

"Dolohov! Ginny watch out! Stupefy!" Neville pushed me behind a pillar just as a green flash came speeding at us. Dolohov dodged the stunning spell, as he came barreling down the hall.

"Avada Kedavra!" Suddenly I was flying through the air, as the pillar exploded and sent us flying backwards. A sickening pain spread across my skull, as I slammed into the wall, Neville landing on his side five feet away, his wand dropped out of his hand and rolled under the debris. Dolohov advanced his wand held above his head, aimed down at Neville, who was now frantically searching for his own wand, unaware of Dolohov.

"NOO!" I heard myself scream as the Death Eater began to utter those fatal words again. I lunged at him, forgetting my wand. I collided with his side, knocking him down. I heard steps behind me and pushed myself back up ready to take on the next person, I saw a mane of long blonde hair and then a red flash.

"Stupefy!" Yelled Luna, Dolohov was hit directly in the back as he attempted to get up, he keeled over back onto his side.

"Got it! Luna, bloody hell you've got good timing." Neville was on all fours now holding out his wand, looking up at Luna with admiration. She smiled down at him, her orb like eyes shining in the moon lit sky. He jumped up. Looking up and down the hall.

"Well we better get out of here, before Dolohov comes around." I conjured up ropes and bound them around his arms and legs quickly. It wouldn't do much but it would slow him down. We sprinted down the corridor, I heard bangs and yells directly below us, motioning to the stairs, we descended to find the third floor in utter chaos. I saw Bill ahead dueling two Death Eaters, I charged forward, distracting one of the two, as my disarming spell only just missed him. He turned to me, and began sending curses flying through the air.

"Ginny no! I've got them! It's too dangerous!" Bill attempted to shield me out of harms way. I dodged around his outstretched arm, firing a stunning spell at the Death Eater, he flew backwards colliding with another Death Eater, sending them both to the ground. Just as the women Bill was dueling fell back against the wall unconscious. I turned to him smirking.

"You were saying? Get over it Bill, I can fight my own battles, I'm not a kid."

"It's not about that I know your good enough, I just don't want you to get hurt." Professor Sprouts went running by sending jinxes at another Death Eater. I turned around, about to follow, when I saw her face. Bellatrix Lestrange standing above me pointing her wand at Harry. We were outside the Burrow.

"Crucio!" Harry squirmed and writhed on the ground shouting in agony.

"NOOOO!" I charged at her, but my legs wouldn't move, I continued to scream. Someones hands were on my shoulders, I heard my name, all I could see was black. I opened my eyes, Hermione was standing directly above me, her hands on my shoulders gently shaking me.

"Ginny! It's just a dream your okay!" I sat up pulling out of her grip, I looked across the room into the mirror and saw Bellatrix sitting in my bed with Hermione standing over her. I screamed again and closed my eyes. The door banged open I whipped my head up to see Ron and Harry came running into the room.

"What's wrong? Are you alright? Why are you screaming?" Ron's voice sounded worried and loud.

"Just a bad dream." I said looking up at Harry, he looked worried and angry. This puzzled me, why was he angry? He stepped around Ron, moving forward, he scooped my up and placed me back down on his lap, cradling me in his arms. I rested my head on his chest.

"Do you want to tell us what the dream was?" His heart was beating rapidly, he looked down at me concern now his only emotion in his eyes.

"No, it was just a dream, nothing of concern." I sighed. But it was a concern, seeing Harry like that, it hurt every part of my body, never again I thought. I closed my eyes, someone moved around my bed, the door closed. All I could hear was Harry's slow breath, and his now steady heart. I sighed in content. Letting myself drift off into a dreamless sleep.

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><p>I woke up to see Hermione opening the drapes. The light filtered in, as she began to fix up the small sofa she had slept on. I sat up rubbing my eyes, something was stirring around in the back of my mind, all of a sudden I remembered last night, I let out a groan. My bed groaned slightly as Hermione sat down on the end of it. I looked around expecting to see Harry, my face fell. Hermione must have seen.<p>

"He stayed here until three o'clock. I left with Ron to give you two some privacy and when I got back I told him to go get some sleep, he hasn't slept in more then two days. He wanted to stay, to make sure you would be okay, so I told him I would get him if anything did happen. He's still asleep now."

"Oh. Er... What time is it?" I looked around for any sign of the time, the sun was high in the greyish coloured sky.

"Around noon. We're leaving for the Burrow at three thirty, oh and your mum made breakfast so we can go eat if you'd like, I'm starving." Nodding, I pulled back the sheets, and slid out of the bed. I pulled on a pair of trousers and an old jumper.

"Alright lets go. By the way... You were with Ron till three last night? What was that all about?" I smirked as her face went red, and she quickly slipped out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Dad, Percy, Bill, and George left at two to check on the Burrow, charms had been placed on the house before they had left, but they still didn't guarantee that no one could have broken through them. Ron came down to the kitchen around two. Ron slumped down in to the chair across from me, he grumbled non-coherently as he pulled a bowl of porridge towards himself. He grabbed three sausages, and a few pieces of bacon, stacked them on a plate with some toast and pushed them to the side. He noticed my staring.

"What! I'm hungry... Where's Hermione? Is she up yet? Did she say anything about last night?"

I smirked at him, arching my eyebrow.

"Yeah she said you were a right old prat, and you've got the personality of an old, smelly sock."

"Shut up Ginny." He said flinging a piece of toast at me. Dodging it I stood up grabbing the plate of food next to Ron's arm, just as he was reaching for some bacon off of it. I grabbed some more food off the table, stacked it on the plate, and took the stairs two at a time to Harry's room he was sharing with Ron and Percy. I knocked lightly on the door, there was no answer. I opened it a crack, peeking in. Harry was asleep in a small cot next to the window, his glasses askew, and still wearing his clothes from last night. I gently lifted his glasses off his face, folded them and placed them next to his wand on the floor. The curtains were pulled shut, but a single ray of light had slipped through and was dancing around his face. I sat quietly on the bed across from him, looking around the room, nibbling on a corner of his toast. My thoughts drifted to home where Dad would be by now, the garden; with its wild plants and silly gnomes, my room overlooking the endless fields that seemed to roll into the horizon, the cozy kitchen, where Mum was always bustling around. I sighed, as Harry shifted in his sleep, his mouth was slightly agape.

"G... G... Ginny..." My heart fluttered, he turned over and the light hit his eyes. He pulled back away from the light and lifted his head, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. He patted his face again, looking for his glasses.

"On the floor." I said my voice light and playful. He whipped up his head.

"Ginny?" He dropped his hand to the floor in search of his glasses not taking his eyes off me, he grabbed them and shoved them on. I slid off the bed, and went to stand in front of him, holding out the plate of food. He grabbed a piece of toast, and some bacon kippers. He continued to keep his eyes glued to me while he hungrily wolfed down the food, grabbing another slice as I sat on the floor in front of him.

"Thanks." He said placing the now empty plate back on the floor. He slid off the cot and onto the floor across from me, leaning against his bed. He looked at me, his eyes filled with concern.

"I'm fine." I said almost defensively. "It was just a dream." I hated looking like a baby.

"I know." He looked down at the ground, pulling his wand over to him. He picked it up and began rolling it in his hands.

"Harry, why did you have Draco's wand before, I mean during the battle? And why were you looking for Ravenclaw's diadem? It's alright if your not ready to talk about it all yet, I'm just curious."

He looked back up at me, he seemed to be pondering something. It was a while before he spoke again.

"I'm not sure where to start, so much has happened. I haven't seen any of you in so long, I mean what happened while we were gone? And I think your Dad and Mum want us to finally fess up about what we were doing all year. I guess now that he's gone it's no longer a secret." He seemed to be more talking to himself then me.

"Tell you what, maybe the whole group of us should sit down and talk about it all together. When we get home, or tomorrow. That way we can all sort of tell it together, and answer all questions then."

He leaned in closer to me. "Yeah... I do have something else on my mind at the moment." Smiling, I playfully cocked my head to the side; "What do you mean?" He lifted his hands so he was cupping my face, bringing it closer to him. I considered teasing him a little longer, but giving in, I hooked my hand around his neck and the other gripped his wild jet-black hair. Our lips met, first lightly, and then I deepened the kiss. I wanted to be closer to him, I rolled onto my knees, so I was slightly higher than him, getting my silent message he rolled onto his knees to. We broke apart momentarily as he quickly stood up and hooked my legs around his waist. I kissed his neck, as he began walking, I wasn't paying attention, I searched for his lips, we seemed to fit like to perfect pieces. Our breath quickened, he lay me down on a bed, who knows where it was, he continued to kiss me, my hands moved to his shirt, tugging at the buttons, my brain wasn't functioning I couldn't undo them. Giving it up I moved my hands back to his neck securely holding him to myself. We could have been there for hours, or minuets who knows? All I knew was that Harry was mine and I silently vowed to never, ever let him go.

"Ahem." I pulled away from Harry faster then lightning, I slid under neath his body, and jumped off the bed.

"George! Don't you knock! You prat!" I folded my arms, glaring at him. Harry moved uncomfortably beside me. George was chuckling looking at the pair of us.

"Sorry Ginny, but I did knock, I guess you were er... just a little preoccupied shall I say, to notice." He smirked as I let out an exasperated cry and stalked past him out the room. I turned down the stairs, but not before I heard George laughing, saying to Harry "I was going for an Umbridge cough, personally I thought I nailed it." Immature, was all I could think, and yet I couldn't help smiling, I hadn't heard or seen George laugh, let alone smile, in quite awhile.

"Ahh there you are Ginny, your father and the boys just got back, do you have everything? We are leaving for the Burrow in twenty minuets, sadly it looks as though the house has been raided in our absence but for the most part it seems to look alright." Mum was bustling around the kitchen gathering up items, and putting away others. Her eyes still looked blood shot, and dark.

"I've got all my stuff, have you seen Hermione though? I haven't seen her since breakfast."

"She was in Murial's back room, you know; she has got quite the collection of books your Auntie, belonged to your Uncle when he was here." I nodded, grabbing a vase mum had knocked over in her haste. I set it right side up and walked down the back hallway.

"Hermione?" I heard a noise coming from the door directly in front of me, it was ajar. I peeked in expecting to see Hermione bent over multiple books, instead I got to see Ron's face hidden behind Hermione's bushy hair, their arms wrapped around each other. I turned 'round smirking to myself, what was it about Auntie Murial's house that got everyone so in the mood?


End file.
